New member here

I have just been diagnosed with lyme a few days ago and now on doxycicline for a month. I'm not sure if I caught it in time, though since I believe I have had it for 6 weeks prior to the actual diagnosis. How it all started was with an infection on the back of my knee. It resembled a bullseye, but it was very hard to make out because of the actual infected skin. My mother who is a nurse prescribed me keflex, but the next day I woke up with an extremely bad headache, excrutiating pain in my right calf, combined with fever and chills. I went to the emergency room and they geave me a lyme test and other bloodwork as well as iv antibiotics(not sure of the name) The doctor said I had cellulitis and to keep taking the keflex. I felt better, went home and to sleep. The next day I felt moderate muscle pain in my right calf combined with these strange head rushes that would come and go over the next few days I experienced what felt like an allergic reaction to random things like caffeine, excedrine, detergents or soaps, certain foods, salt. The reactions mainly consisted of extremely itchy skin with no apparent rash, then periodic little red bumps all over my skin, like atopic dermatitis. This continued for about a week and a half, then one day after work, my leg started hurting a little more than moderate, it passed after a few hours and I went to sleep, the next day I woke up with a rash around the area of my right knee. It didnt itch and wasnt painful, no bullseye. My mother prescribed me a 10 day course of doxy thinking it was a reccurant skin infection. The symptoms of itchy skin and head rushes persisted, though the rash cleared up and has not returned since. During this whole time I was not able to see a dr since I had no insurance and just started a new job and it takes 3 months for benefits to start. I found a plain epo plan and went to see an internal medicine doctor, she gave me a full blood panel including a lyme test and I came back positive with 6 of my 8 bands of antibodies showing abnormal. She put me on doxy again for a full month. There was about a 10 day period in between the first round of doxy that my mother gave me and when the doctor diagnosed me. I have been on it since tuesday, felt better for a few days( no symptoms). Today, I felt fine until around 4pm, I started getting very minor itches, then around 6 I started feeling the head rushes, they were light more of just a nuisance. I am just wondering if I caught it in time, I really hope I'm not going to have chronic symptoms. I would welcome anyone with similar symptoms or experiences to share their thoughts.

I am so sorry you are dealing with this right now. Have you found a good lyme literate medical doctor yet? You can post a new topic here and ask for suggestions from the forum members. You should post your email so that members can tell you the contact info privately. You can email: stephanie@turnthecorner.org to find a Lyme Literate Doctor in your area. You can also go to: www.turnthecorner.org/bod.htm and ask for further sugestions.

For more info, please read the topic at the top of the first page of this forum tittled "The Basics, Newbies check this out". It will help you get started learning about lyme.

If you have anymore questions, please don't hesitate to ask them. Good luck with everything!I have Lyme Disease; Lyme Disease DOES NOT have ME!

**You never know how STRONG you are....until being STRONG is the ONLY choice you have**

Thanks for the info, my email address is steve_53180@yahoo.com. I havent found a llmd yet, was hoping the month of antibiotics would kill it. I live in Northern NJ and my internal medicine doctor told me that if my symptoms dont go away or get worse after a few weeks then I should see a lyme specialist.

It is very important to see a knowledgeable doctor. Many doctors do not understand Lyme and treat with outdated protocols. Besides Lyme, ticks can also transmit several co-infections including Babesiosis, two types of Ehrlichiosis (HME & HGE), Bartonella, and Mycoplasma. Many people who have Lyme are co-infected. It may affect treatment choice and progress. It is important to be tested for these by a Lyme reputable lab such as IgeneX in Palo Alto, CA. Have you been tested for the co-infections?

What dose of Doxy are you taking? Many doctors prescribe too low of a dose. There are some important tips about taking Doxy. Do not have any dairy, magnesium, or iron products within two hours of taking it or it will not be absorbed properly. If it makes you nauseous, eat something substantial and non-dairy before taking it. Avoid the sun. You can get a severe burn in minutes even when wearing sunscreen. Do not lay down for at least an hour after taking it, or you can ulcerate your esophagus. This is very painful. Drink a full glass of water when you take it for the same reason.

It sounds like your infection is relatively early which is good. Early infections are the easiest to cure. Getting the proper treatment now may reduce the chance of long-term complications. From what I understand, six weeks of the proper dose antibiotic is the minimum treatment time for an infection caught within two weeks of the bite. The antibiotics kill the bacteria when they are reproducing which is estimated at four weeks. Six weeks of treatment will cover one growth cycle in a new infection. If symptoms are still present, further treatment is warranted. A longer infection needs longer treatment. Since you think you were infected six weeks ago, you should be treated longer.

Are you aware of the Jarisch-Herxheimer Reaction (herx)? Often, when people who have Lyme take antibiotics their symptoms get worse or they get new ones. When the antibiotics kill the bacteria, toxins are released making them feel worse. It can be scary, but it is a good sign the antibiotics are working. During treatment it is a good idea to document your symptoms daily. One way to do this is to list the main symptoms you have each day with a numerical rating of their severity from 1-10. Over time when you review this, you can see when your herxes occur and how you are responding to the meds.

It is also important to learn as much as possible. I recommend reading Dr. Joseph Burrascano's 2008 Diagnostic Hints and Treatment Guidelines For Lyme and Other Tick Borne lllnesses at http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/B_guidelines_12_17_08.pdfHe is one of the top Lyme doctors in the country, and many Lyme doctors follow his protocols. He discusses antibiotics and doses starting on page 18. I also recommend the books "Everything You Need To Know about Lyme Disease Second Edition" by Karen Vanderhoof-Forschner and "The Lyme Disease Solution" by Kenneth B. Singleton M.D.